Category Archives: Covenants

A process is a step by step progression of tasks needed to accomplish an important goal, in a timely manner, with limited resources. Exposure to and practice with processes are perhaps our most important tools for our “learn to do” and “learn to be” work in the studios. During the 2012-13 school year, we cataloged thirty seven major processes that Eagles learned to use in real world challenges.

At the end of Session Six, Eagles paused to reflect on the most important processes used this year. Was it the Socratic Method; The Scientific Method; initiating a life changing conversation; conducting a world changing interview or securing an apprenticeship?

All of the processes above were mentioned, but a consensus quickly formed around the two most important processes: (1) Time Management and (2) Self Governance.

When asked why, Eagles responded:

“Because rich or poor, powerful or not, each person only has twenty four hours in a day.”

“Setting priorities helps me use my gifts to their full potential.”

“Leading people is difficult; so is knowing how to choose a leader and when it is your time to follow;” and finally

“These processes teach you about yourself and what you need to change to live a hero’s life, which is the most difficult challenge of all.”

No wonder these two processes take so much time, effort and practice. It’s because along with courage, they are the very foundation of the Hero’s Journey.

Yes, everyone dislikes Eagle Bucks and those who ask for them. Few people have warm and fuzzy feelings about petty regulations or overzealous Mall Cops on Segways. Plus governance disputes seem to eat up far too much time.

Yet without a few simple rules and small fines, what would happen to a society? Would peer pressure alone prevent people from driving at dangerous speeds or rolling through stop signs?

We have just finished Part One of a two part experiment by abolishing Eagle Bucks for up to two weeks, starting last Monday. Bottom line, we only made it eight days. The vote to reinstate Eagle Bucks was nearly unanimous, and even some of the harshest Eagle Bucks critics have changed their minds.

Once we digest the lessons from this experiment, we may try one in the opposite direction – arming Guides with Red Cards. During this experiment, if a Guide sees an Eagle violating a rule adopted by the community, the perpetrator and his or her Running Partner will each owe double the normal penalty. And Guides will reserve the right to prospectively raise the fines for certain violations that keep occurring.

The idea here is that Eagles will have an excuse for asking for legitimate Eagle Bucks. Either I ask you, or both of us risk owing a double fine if a Guide has to intervene. This way, it becomes easier for someone who doesn’t care about popularity to draw crisp boundaries on certain types of disruptive behavior.

If this experiment proves valuable, eventually the Guide’s Red Card prerogative would be transferred to an older Launchpad Eagle, removing adults (but not authority) from the governance structure.

Silent Core Skills time at Acton Academy means exactly that – a time of deep individual work that isn’t distracted by noise or activity in the studio. How do we protect such times of “flow,” when the right challenge can lead to deep learning at a rapid clip?

Of course, all intentionality in the studio begins with the Eagle to Eagle covenants and an Eagle Buck system that lets Eagles set and uphold the standards. Without a serious buy-in by all, there is no spontaneous order.

But even with this, protecting individual work time during Silent Core Skills isn’t easy. During Silent Core Skills time, you can hear a pen drop in the studio – literally. So even the smallest creak becomes a distraction. So we have “white noise machines” that help to block out distractions.

Sometimes minor distractions can build, until all intentionality breaks down. Here, the Yacker Tracker – a listening device that can be set to trigger an alarm when a pre-set decibel level is breached – is a big help. The decibel level is at a whisper for Silent Core Skills and slightly higher for Collaboration time; if the alarm goes off, the person who triggered it owes an Eagle Buck.

Finally, when all intentionality is lost, we can depend on our Elementary Eagle neighbors below to deliver a Red Card, meaning we’ve disturbed the rights of the Elementary Eagles to learn without being distracted. A Red Card costs the Middle School community 24 Eagle Bucks.

Layers of habit, protocol and individual and community rights, developed by Eagles, with a little help from technology. It’s one set of secrets as to why Eagles can learn at a 10X rate when engaged and in flow.

One by one, edicts restricting educational freedom arrived from King George III.

Edict One: On hearing the Royal Buzzer, subjects must assemble within one minute.

Edict Two: Before breaks in the schedule, line up in order of height and sing “God save the King.”

Edict Three: One Khan Academy skill must be mastered per day – from home — or a tax of one Eagle Buck must be paid.

Each Eagle did deep research on three eighteenth century American colonists: two Patriots and one Loyalist. Then choosing to stand in the shoes of one of these revolutionary leaders, wrote a petition to the King, asking for the edicts to stop. Some letters were respectful; others threatening; all were critiqued by the group and the most historically accurate and powerful letters chosen to post.

Soon the class learned that they could pass an Educational Declaration of Independence by a two thirds vote. But declaring such a revolution would lead to the rolling of a six sided die: a roll of a 1 or 2 and the revolution would succeed and all educational freedoms would be restored; a more likely 3, 4, 5 or 6 and the revolution would fail. If the revolution failed, a second die would determine whether a onerous set of penalties would be imposed by the King for as short as three weeks or as long as seven month.

The Eagles were in a bind; just like the American colonists of 1776. Yet the edicts kept coming.

Edict Four required Eagles to remain silently seated at a their desks.

Edict Five asked Eagles to raise a hand to ask permission from a Guide for even the most trivial request.

Edict Six meant a one Eagle Buck tax on lunch.

The usually light atmosphere became oppressive. The furious colonists began to fight amongst themselves, suggesting traitors in their midst (some did try to sell out to the King, asking for special treatment.)

Some Eagles put on war paint to prepare their own Tea Party.

Revolutionary committees formed and emotional speeches rang out.

Eventually six delegates were elected to the Continental Congress; some intent on war; others recommending careful negotiation. All hid their identities when a representative of the King appeared, fearing retribution from the monarch.

The day ended with no resolution and more edicts expected tomorrow – perhaps even a revolution and a fateful roll of the die – especially given this final silent Mocking-jay protest against tyranny (you have to have seen The Hunger Games to get this one!)

Pure power politics, as the duly elected members of the Middle School Council and Elementary School Council meet to discuss an agreement over joint usage of the play fields.

But consider this. No adult was consulted. The Council members contacted each other to set up the parley. Then they peacefully negotiated a settlement to take back to their respective tribes for ratification.

Last week we experimented with 360 reviews, a community building tool used at some of America’s top companies, like Apple and Google.

First, each Eagle was given the survey below and asked to rate every classmate’s Tough- mindedness (a measure of how they hold themselves and others accountable) and Warmheartedness (a measure of how encouraging they are to others) on a 1 (low) to 5 (high) score.

The purpose of this survey is to provide anonymous feedback to your fellow Eagles to help them become more “tough minded without being hardhearted” Level 5 Leaders.

Below you will be asked to rate each of your classmates on their “tough mindedness” and “warmheartedness,” each on a 1-5 scale.

Level Five Leaders are toughminded and warmhearted. They are encouraging, draw boundaries, set consequences and keep promises to themselves and others, while remaining cheerful and friendly.

Policeman hold firm boundaries but tend to focus on criticizing mistakes and individuals rather than praising behavior and progress.

Pushovers praise often but are afraid to hold people accountable; because of a lack of courage they do not help their friends grow.

Snarks make the poorest choices of all. They criticize and tear people down AND fail to hold themselves and others accountable.”

We collected the surveys, then summarized and plotted results on a 2×2 matrix (low to high Tough-mindedness versus low to high Warmheartedness) and made the output anonymous by substituting a number for each Eagle’s name.

Each Eagle then was asked to (silently) assess and write down where they thought their classmates had ranked them, before each learned his or her actual position on the graph (results were privately distributed to avoid any embarrassment.)

In most cases, Eagles accurately assessed where they would be ranked. Those in the lowest quadrant were the most accurate, while those in the higher quadrants tended to be more modest about their studio-mates’ opinions.

The effects on motivation? We don’t know yet. But at least each Eagle now has areas where they can improve, and a clearer sense of how their classmates view their contributions.

James Madison wrote in Federalist 51: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”

Our middle schoolers are no angels, at least not all the time. But they are an impressive group of young men and women, learning to govern each other with a grace and dignity that few adults could match.

Today we had a model Town Hall meeting: the choices well framed; each welcomed to speak; the rules of engagement enforced.

Starting next week, we’ll experiment with another self-accountability experiment, and see how it affects motivation.

First each Eagle will certify which weekly challenges from he or she has completed. Then the Council randomly will draw one computerized deliverable (like Khan Academy) and another non-computerized deliverable (like a journal entry.) Each Eagle will be asked to publicly post his or her results for these deliverables and self rank whether the contribution was in the lower, middle or bottom part of the class.

There is no penalty for choosing not to complete a challenge, except the loss of points towards Eagle Bucks, and possibly missing the weekly adventure, if that specific deliverable was required to qualify.

The penalty for certifying you have completed a deliverable and done “your best work” if it’s obvious you haven’t, will be being sent home, no questions asked, since this is a serious violation of the community honor code.

Next week we elect a new Council, as other Eagles earn a chance to lead. This Council will be missed.

We trust our Eagles to report whether or not they have completed a challenge and done their “best work.” Human beings, however, are fallible, especially when given too much to do, in too little time, with special adventures being offered for delivering everything on time.

Last week we decided to focus on the importance of self reporting, and accidentally created a firestorm of confusion.

We paid special attention last week to self reporting in Socratic discussions, stressing the importance of reporting accurately and turning in “the best work you can do.” On Friday, when it came time to qualify for this week’s special adventure, we read the checklist of deliverables item by item, asking Eagles to sit if they had missed an item. Many Eagles sat down, acknowledging that they hadn’t completed one task or another, understandable, given the workload they’ve been under. By the end, fifteen or so Eagles had certified that they had completed all the items.

Afterwards, a Guide checked the No Red Ink program and noticed that five of those who reported they had scored a 90 or above on this week’s quiz had not achieved this goal, according to the program’s dashboard.

A Council meeting was called, and the Council agreed that the misreporting was serious enough that the five Eagles would be asked to remain home on Monday, and decided to inform each privately to avoid embarrassment.

After the Eagles were informed, one Eagle showed one Guide a screen shot that showed he/she had scored a 100 and the dashboard had not accurately captured his/her score. Another Eagle swore that he/she had finished with a 90, but the dashboard showed otherwise. A third Eagle claimed to have accidentally done the wrong test and the dashboard confirmed that the Eagle had scored a 100, but on the wrong quiz. The last two Eagles, as far as we know, did not lodge an immediate appeal. Later, one would report that he/she had scored a 90.

At this point, with only a few minutes before Friday’s field trip adventure would begin, there was mass confusion. It is important to note that there were several categories of errors: (1) An apparent technical glitch in the program; (2) A possible error in submitting a final score, either by the program or an Eagle not hitting “submit;” (3) An Eagle who had done the wrong test but accurately reported his/her score; (4) An Eagle who reported a 90 but had no independent verification; and (5) One Eagle who said he/she just failed to listen/read carefully enough.

Which of these were “the dog ate my homework” errors; which were forgivable and which were more serious lapses?

Because of all the confusion and ambiguity, the Council voted over the weekend that all Eagles will be invited back to campus on Monday, and this incident will be put behind us.

Further investigation this weekend suggests that while some Eagles may have been genuinely confused, the computer program appears likely to have been accurately reporting scores all along, and that there is a high likelihood that several of the Eagles did not score a 90 or above.

As you can imagine, still lots of confusion and some hard feelings, which we will sort out this week, being careful to separate the personal issues from the governance issues and to prevent long term hard feelings or factions. Those with a personal issue with another Eagle will be encouraged to address the person openly and directly with a facilitated process, either in private or publicly. Governance issues and strengthening due process in the studio will be addressed in a Town Hall meeting.

As parents, we’ve learned at Acton to listen empathetically; equip our Eagles with the right words, and then send them back into the fray to sort things out for themselves. It’s hard to do, but the best way to learn to cope and stay healthy in the real world, in high pressure situations.

Human communities are messy, but the Eagles (and Guides) are learning lots of important lessons, especially about self governance in an Eagle led learning community.

We started the year with Evidence Tickets, individual examples of work Eagles were asked to publicly post to earn specified privileges. High quality work was praised by Running Partners, who also identified places where more effort was needed.

While this system encouraged accountability, having Evidence Tickets arrive unexpectedly made it feel to Eagles that they weren’t in control of their own schedules.

Now we’ve shifted to Challenge Envelopes, providing a week’s worth of deliverables at a time, allowing Eagles more control over their schedules (a suggested weekly schedule is provided, for reference, but Eagles can disregard this and tackle objectives in any order they want.)

Challenge Envelopes ask Eagles to check their long term Personal Learning Plans to set weekly goals for reading and Newsela (critical reading and critical thinking skills); journaling and No Red Ink (grammar) for writing and Khan Academy for math and learning badges for 21st century skills. Also included are a series of Quest related goals for “writing a bestselling book” and “entrepreneurial skills to help sell the book” once it’s written.

But how do we make sure that Eagles are doing “the best you can do” without reading and grading every assignment? That’s the subject of the next post.

Ten Middle School Eagles began guiding in the Elementary School, helping the ES Eagles set and record daily SMART goals. Each SMART goal group will have a learning contract and every Eagle will work hard to remain in Socratic mode and respect the Rules of Engagement.

Don’t let anyone kid you that building a self governing learning community is easy – for adults or middle school Eagles.

We’re still struggling with intentionality, and the Eagles not living up to the promises they made to each other.

Finally, noise became such a problem that it started distracting the elementary Eagles below, so we gave our neighbors the right to take 24 Eagle Bucks and a Mason Break/Charlie Break away anytime they are disturbed.

Yesterday, a “red card” signalling a violation was deliver on two occasions. 48 Eagle Bucks – ouch! We’ll see if these natural consequences from violating a neighbor’s property rights will help.

We also realized it was a mistake to make it too easy to earn Eagle Bucks, which takes away the sting of losing one for poor choices. So we’re making Eagle Bucks harder to earn in the future and asking anyone with more than ten Eagle Bucks to cash them in ( one Eagles Buck = $1) to buy something fun for their classmates.

Despite our struggles, lots of powerful learning taking place:

After hearing that we’re draining Eagle Buck liquidity from the financial system, one Eagle, remembering the “inflation game” from last year, asked: “Will this cause an Eagle Buck Great Depression?”

A parent sent this:”Last night, <our daughter> told us ‘I have just realized something so interesting and special! Did you know that so far NONEof the guides have taught me anything … It’s ME, Iam learning everything on my own , all on my own?'”

Lots of collaboration in preparation for the Personal Learning Plan Exhibition and Debate next week.

Today we received a gift of some terrific books, and Eagles swarmed around the box, eager for new reading.

Next step – draft a clear contract between each Guide and each Eagle – something we should have done long ago.

Samuel Johnson said: “Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind…”

In this same spirit, the air is sizzling in anticipation for next Thursday’s Motivation Hero Debate and Personal Learning Plan exhibition. Nothing like having to perform in public to motivate an Eagle.

Today, we upped the ante with the following Personal Learning Plan Challenge:

“Eagles,

Do you want to impress your parents and friends with your Personal Learning Plan (“PLP”)?

Do you want to “prove what you can do” to land an exciting apprenticeship this spring? or

Would you just like an Ice Cream Party next Friday to celebrate the end of the session?

Here’s the deal: If everyone meets the requirements below, we’ll have an Ice Cream Party next Friday afternoon. You can even invite the Elementary Eagles to attend if you throw in 40 Eagle Bucks to pay for their ice cream.

All returning Middle School Eagles have to send an email (vetted by another Eagle or Running Partner for grammar) to the entrepreneur or manager who sponsored your apprenticeship with a “thank you for what you inspired me to do this year at Acton” note AND a link to your PLP by next Friday at 10 AM (copy Ms Abgail).

All Eagles new to the MS need to send an email note to your Running Partner’s parents saying “look what my Running Partner inspired me to do,” including a link to your PLP.

Each Eagle’s Running Partner must certify that your Personal Learning Plan has met the minimum recommended requirements, including the Evidence Tickets for each area below, presented in a clear and attractive way:

Math deadlines for Pre-Algebra and the next math challenge (Algebra; Geometry; Trig)

Reading goals;

Writing goals, including typed versions of your three best journaling examples.

For your Motivation Hero Debate: at least one of the Mentor Text analyses; your final written presentation and at least one of the written video analyses.

Note: As part of the PLP Contest, every parent will receive: (1) a schedule comparing your commitments for this coming year in reading, writing, math and Learning Badges to your classmates; (2) a complete copy of all of the Evidence Tickets for the session; and (3) the minimum requirements listed above, so they can have more perspective on the work you’ve done this semester.

Making promises – to yourself and people you respect. Public exhibitions, even when it’s hard, because real world consequences prepare heroes for the real world. Special celebrations, because hard work and fun are not mutually exclusive.

Today was the first Town Hall meeting of the new Council. Let’s just say it was a little rocky.

During the meeting, the Council gave into the demands of a few loud voices calling for the easing of standards. Allowing music back into the classroom. Voting out the existence of Evidence Tickets (voluntary examples of work designed to help Eagles manage their many commitments.)

Bread and Circuses would have come next. Except the Council doesn’t have such broad authority.

There is a signed covenant covering music – parental approval is required. Plus the Eagles already have failed to hold each other accountable for music distractions – another violation of a covenant they had promised to uphold, and already forgotten.

Evidence Tickets are a part of the curriculum, which Guides have the right to design and propose until Eagles take on the responsibility of creating their own courses.

So later in the afternoon, the Council had to apologize to their constituents for failing to do the hard work and preparation required to be leaders, and for allowing the Eagles to take that first slippery step towards a lowest common denominator.

The high end prep school of the late 1990’s featured a didactic curriculum and a cadre of well trained teachers. Today that seems, well, so “old school.”

Given the resources available on the internet, crafting a world class curriculum today is more about curation than creation. There’s simply so much great material to choose from, and quite a bit of it is high quality.

Even better, you can equip students to choose challenges for themselves, and order the experiences in a way that appeals to their individual learning styles.

Teacher training is an anachronism too. Peer-to-peer exchanges are far more powerful than having a gaggle of lecturing adults hanging around the teacher’s lounge.

What remains difficult is keeping our Eagles inspired, intentional and aiming for the highest quality work.

Today we tried something different. Taking volunteer Champions, Eagles who would take responsibility for different parts of the studio and learning areas.

Just another experiment in helping young heroes take control of their education.

On July 4th, 1776 the Founding Fathers sparked a revolution with: “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our Sacred Honor.”

Today, our Eagles dedicated themselves to their own revolution, a revolution that promises the freedom to use your own gifts, in a way that brings great joy, to satisfy a deep burning need in the world.

It was not an easy path. Earlier in the week we debated the views of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, fundamental beliefs about human nature and whether men and women are capable of governing themselves, and if so, what form the self government should take.

The Eagles continued the creation and debate over four documents:

A Contract of Promises that contained their pledges to each other;

Rules of Engagement to encourage healthier Socratic discussions;

Community Standards to create a more civil society; and

A Governance Plan that describes the political contract that will bind them.

The path was not easy, and as the Eagles witnessed in a video about the Declaration of Independence, neither was the founding of America.

At the end of the day, Eagles voted to ratify the covenants and gathered in silence for a signing ceremony.

Each Eagle rose as his or her name was called, placed a sacred object into a community keepsake basket, carefully read each document and added his or her signature.

After the last Eagle had signed, the room erupted into applause and cheers. Our Eagles understand the seriousness of giving your promise and the significance ratifying it with a signature.

It was indeed, a pledge of Sacred Honor. Perhaps even the start of a revolution that will change the world.

Democracy. Power to the people! It sounds pretty, but it’s pretty messy.

This week, the 24 (plus a 25th in and out of Skype range) Eagles revisited the Governing Documents created by the very first crop of Middle Schoolers at the beginning of the last school year- the Contract of Promises, the Rules of Engagement, the code of Community Standards and the Student Governance Plan – and took on the task of refining them, revising them, or even tossing them away and starting over from scratch.

They divided into pods of 8; each pod elected a leader; and the leaders listened, took notes, added their opinions judiciously, withheld their opinions judiciously, and provided a calming base for the intense disagreements that frequently arose.

Claire, Nikita and Sarah won deep appreciation (and an Eagle Buck apiece) for their willingness to take on those leadership roles, and their elegance in carrying them out.

It was intense this afternoon. (Picture the Second Constitutional Convention, but with women and a/c. )

The values the Eagles have already adopted- of making clear points in as few words as possible, avoiding repetition, listening respectfully and building on each others’ statements- kept this community forum from turning into an after school event.

(And they actually did have time to clean up afterwards; the resulting Studio was, according to our Clean-Up Champion Anaya Mehta, “almost pristine but with room for improvement”).

Try to get 24 people to agree on anything – anything important, that is, that affects their ability to do the work they’ve chosen and pursue the calling of their choice, to be on their own Hero’s Journey and support those of their Fellow Travelers- and it gets complicated fast. Most adults understand how hard it, even with the perspective of maturity, is to mesh one person’s Journey gracefully with that of another, let alone several or a dozen or two.

At the end of the day, they succeeded- they unanimously passed a set of documents: drawn up by Eagles, argued about by Eagles, approved by Eagles- that they will ceremoniously sign, and sign off on, tomorrow afternoon.

How nice it will be to live under the rule of a benevolent majority… until dissent, the threat of mob rule, and potential tyranny bring everyone back to the Town Hall for another argument. Probably sooner rather than later.

Student #1 to his Running Partner: “I’m going to be in California for the next two weeks, but we’ve got lots of work to do, so we’ll need to be holding each other accountable while I’m gone. How would you like to keep in touch: email, text, Skype, by phone or some other way?”

Running Partner :”Email would work best. Let me give you my personal email because I check it more often than the school address. We can Skype too, if we need to discuss something in real time.”

Twelve year olds. Learning while on family vacation. Affirming and holding each other accountable from 1,500 miles away.

A visitor who wants to import the magic of Acton Academy to his school, circled the Eagles to ask the secrets to a strong culture.

Their answers:

1. Strong covenants between students.

2. Eagle Bucks and accountability.

3. A Town Council and Council Meetings that made Eagles, and not adults, responsible for creating and enforcing laws.

4. A belief that “we are all in this together, and not separate tribes like the Stanford Prison experiment.”

5. Socratic discussions where we hold each other accountable for respecting and upholding the discussion process.

6. Daily, weekly and session long SMART goals, where we have the freedom and responsibility for our own learning.

7. Running Partners who are assigned, so you learn to get along with people who are different than you.

8 Faith that we really are heroes, who are going to change the world.

Not only do the Eagles know what makes a strong culture, soon they will be able to build their own, in companies, not-for-profits and community groups. Exactly the kind of everyday heroes that Alexis-de Tocqueville observed in Democracy in America.

Yesterday, we had some important visitors who wanted to see Acton Academy in Action (we now average three to five visiting groups each week.)

After the morning launch, one of our Eagles asked for a moment to propose changes in the way Running Partners collaborate during Silent Core Skills time. Here’s a report from an observer on what happened next:

“An Eagle stepped up to facilitate. He grabbed a white board and refocused the group by reintroducing the topic- Collaboration Requests. He asked for suggestions, listened intently, and wrote them down. When more than one person began talking, he reminded them of the Socratic Rules of Engagement. After a few minutes of discussion, he read the list of suggestions and took a vote. He kept the discussion on topic and was mindful of time. The class came to a unanimous decision in seven minutes.”

A group of middle school students. Recognizing a need to make changes in the way they govern the classroom. Taking control; mindfully discussing; coming to a conclusion and implementing the changes in seven minutes.

Want to take on an impossible task? Try transferring janitorial duties to a group of middle schoolers.

At Acton Academy it’s our Eagles responsibility to clean the sink, mop the floors and empty the trash – every day. With no help or intervention from Guides.

At first this took a great deal of patience. The room looked (and at times smelled) like a college dorm. But finally the Eagles rallied to form a cleaning crew and spruce up their new home.

Sadly, after a while enthusiasm waned and we slipped back into bad habits. That is, until the Acton elementary students wrote a series of letters complaining about the trash and how it was damaging the Acton brand. There was talk of an intra-school suit for damages, perhaps a Chapter 11 bankruptcy with elementary students as overseers.

The middle schoolers rallied again. But a few weeks later slipped back into slothful habits.

Then, a novel idea. We divide the room in half and separate the Eagles into two teams. At the end of clean up, the an elementary student serves as referee, with one of two choices:

Declare one side the winner. Winners go outside the next day during free time.

Today we returned from break. Only eleven weeks until summer session. Time to put the finishing touches on our learning culture before we let new Eagles into our tribe.

The focus word for this week: Intentionality.

Acting with intention. Being purposeful. Tapping into your passions. That’s what heroes do.

So time to eliminate the trivial; to minimize the unimportant. Time to put all of our energy into learning. Time for a new definition of work times, based on a survey late last session, asking Eagles how we could reduce distractions.

So we created new definitions of the our Work Blocks. All Core Skills time is now silent. We added No Tech Core Skills time, where all computers are closed and Eagles simply read, write and ponder.

No interruptions are allowed – if an Eagle needs to collaborate, he or she posts to a Collaboration Request board. An added benefit – we now have a record of who is helping whom and why.

We also rearranged the desks in the classroom. All of this was based on recommendations submitted by Eagles.

Core skills time was incredibly focused and purposeful today. Deep concentration on “blacking out” Khan skills; serious writing; deep reading. Not a sound in the classroom.

In the afternoon, the launch of an exciting new project. But more on that tomorrow.

It’s starts with a passing remark between friends. Perhaps even something misheard. Feelings are hurt but unexpressed.

Later, something biting in response, disguised as humor: sarcasm.

No matter the cause, the effect is corrosive. Soon, a friendship may be lost. Later, it may cost a marriage.

Are unkind words merely a rite of middle school passage? We think not. We believe our Eagles can transcend petty meanness.

Over the years, Acton MBA students have done thousands of “Stars and Steppingstone” interviews with successful people from 30 to 85 years old. If you listen carefully, the older, wiser role models will all tell you the same thing, that near the end of life, you will ask some form of the following three questions:

Did I contribute something meaningful?

Was I a good person?; and

Who did I love and who loved me?

Monday, 14 year old Maria Teresa’s story reminded our Eagles of the first question; that each is expected to change the world in a meaningful way.

Tuesday, we examined the second question, what it means to be a “good person” and how sarcasm and passive aggressive behavior are small acts of cowardice, the easy way out. Acton heroes are expected to confront mean remarks head on, so relationships can be repaired.

One young Eagle even had the courage to gently but firmly confront a friend, in front of the entire class, using the new techniques of conflict resolution we had practiced. A genuine act of bravery for both parties.

By the end of class, nine brave Eagles stepped forward with a bold promise. To wear honesty bracelets for one week, as a commitment to call out and stamp out mean comments, so as to make the community stronger.

Can middle school students really build a far healthier community than most adults?

Many people ask how we integrate the disparate parts of a day into a single narrative.

Here’s an example:

We launched our morning huddle with a video clip of Susan Boyle, the surprising singer who bravely overwhelmed skeptics with her powerful voice on the 2009 version of Britain’s. The point? That following your dream requires perseverance and courage in the face of overwhelming odds.

Each Eagle then contributed an “imagine this” scenario, playing the part of the hero in his or her special moment (like winning the Super Bowl or debuting on Broadway.)

Next we focused on SMART goals for the morning in Core Skills; listened to Ms. Samantha’s “trial and error” hero story; finished self portraits in Art and continued with the Game Lab 3D work on probabilities and decision trees.

Ms. Samantha’s Hero Story.

At the final huddle, all this was wrapped into a discussion about using probabilities and decision trees, the need to adjust (but not abandon) our dreams as life happens – for example, a severe knee injury might require you to become an NFL team owner instead of an NFL quarterback — and how our work with SMART goals in Core Skills not only imbed perseverance as a habit, but provides basic skills to fall back on when life throws us a curve.

All of this served as a reminder that our Eagles need to be weighing what type of Apprenticeship they want to test in the spring.

Above, the decision tree used at day;s end that links an Eagles gifts, joy and opportunities to his or her dreams for tomorrow, providing a visual map of how life can force us to adapt.

Finally, we are adding even more accountability and consequences to the mix, so be prepared to hear some squawks.

Above – a more obvious signalling device to help students understand which “discussion mode is in effect: “red” is full focus; “yellow” collaboration; “green” free time.

The first five weeks we focused on building the community – making it a gathering no one ever wants to miss. Then we added SMART and Excellence goals to encourage the habit of hard work. Soon the few students who are still struggling with committing completely to day to day work will find themselves increasingly removed — literally hell for middle schoolers – until they find the focus needed to excel.

Because at Acton Academy, we are very serious about the learning covenants that our Eagles and Guides signed.